Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Torah for your Table! The Power of Shavout!

Shavout is a special time during the year. We received the Torah on Har
Sinai. Moreover, on Shavout, we read Megillat Ruth. Megillat Ruth teaches us
many insightful things. Ruth was a Moabite princess; she had it all, wealth,
power, fame, you name it she had it. Yet, to her, it was not enough. She
converted to Judaism, essentially she had given up all her wealth and fame, and
why, to become a Jew. Regardless of the fact that she didn’t have food to eat,
no matter her struggles, she found the truth in Judaism and knew that
everything that happened to her had a higher purpose.

From Ruth’s strength and commitment, we can see that nothing that Hashem
does to us is bad, it might seem painful in our perspective, but in the larger
scheme of things, which we don’t have access to in the moment, everything
Hashem puts us through is meant to encourage us to develop our potentials in
this world. Ruth understood that her wealth would not carry over with her to Olam
Habba- the world to come- however, she recognized that she could take her mitzvot with her. Because of the
sacrifice Ruth had made for Hashem, in her merit, she is the ancestor of David
Hamelech, Shlomo Hamelech and Melech HaMashiach.

With that said, it is obvious to see how grand every deed we perform is
looked at in the eyes of Hashem. Every mitzvah, small or large, has such a high
spiritual reward awaiting for us in Olam Haba- the world to come. As we are about to re-receive the
Torah, we should all have in mind this new journey we are about to embark upon.
Like Rabbi Segal always says “it’s
ok to fall as long as you pick yourself up.” Moreover, regardless of how many
times we have fallen, this is the best time to become elevated once more!